- Maigret and the Headless Corpse
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Maigret and the Headless Corpse (French: Maigret et le corps sans tête) is a detective novel by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon.
Overview
When a man's arm is fished out of the Canal St. Martin in Paris, Maigret and his colleagues are puzzled. A woman's arm they would understand as the work of a psychopath or a man's body as a gang related killing, but they are even more puzzled when the rest of the man, minus his head, is dug out of the Canal. Maigret's attention turns to Madame Calas, a strange woman running a bistro along with her husband near the canal. The husband is away in the country, Madame Calas willingly sleeps with anyone who asks (Maigret does not test this theory) and the judge soon arrests her, her lover (the main one), and a young delivery boy (also a lover). But Maigret is not satisfied and pushes further and uncovers a story, and a motivation for murder, that is far stranger than anything he has ever seen before.
Originally written in French in 1955,[1] the novel was translated into English by Eileen Ellenbogen and published by Harcourt Brace in 1968.
Adaptations
A BBC TV version of the book first aired on October 30, 1963 under the title A simple case with Rupert Davies playing Maigret.[2] A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation version aired in 1957 with Budd Knapp as Maigret.[3]
Two French tv adaptations have been aired both under the french title, Maigret et le corps sans tête. Jean Richard starred in the first which aired on 8 March 1974.[4] and Bruno Cremer starred in the second, which aired on 11 September 1992.
References
Maigret Novels The Strange Case of Peter the Lett • The Crime at Lock 14 • The Death of Monsieur Gallet • The Crime of Inspector Maigret • A Battle of Nerves • A Face for a Clue • Maigret at the Crossroads • Maigret in Holland • The Sailors' Rendezvous • Maigret at the Gai-Moulin • Guinguette by the Seine • The Shadow in the Courtyard • Maigret Goes Home • The Flemish Shop • Death of a Harbour Master • The Madman of Bergerac • Liberty Bar • The Lock at Charenton • Maigret Returns • Maigret and the Hotel Majestic • Maigret in Exile • Maigret and the Spinster • To Any Lengths • Maigret and the Toy Village • Maigret's Rival • Maigret in Retirement • Maigret à New York • A Summer Holiday • Maigret's Dead Man • Maigret's First Case • My Friend Maigret • Maigret and the Coroner • Maigret and the Old Lady • Madame Maigret's Own Case • Maigret's Memoirs • Maigret and the Strangled Stripper • Maigret Takes a Room • Maigret and the Burglar's Wife • Inspector Maigret and the Killers • Maigret's Revolver • Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard • Maigret Afraid • Maigret's Mistake • Maigret Goes to School • Inspector Maigret and the Dead Girl • Maigret and the Minister • Maigret and the Headless Corpse • Maigret Sets a Trap • Maigret's Failure • Maigret's Little Joke • Maigret and the Millionaires • Maigret Has Scruples • Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses • Maigret Has Doubts • Maigret in Court • Maigret in Society • Maigret and the Lazy Burglar • Maigret and the Black Sheep • Maigret and the Saturday Caller • Maigret and the Dosser • Maigret Loses His Temper • Maigret and the Ghost • Maigret on the Defensive • The Patience of Maigret • Maigret and the Nahour Case • Maigret's Pickpocket • Maigret in Vichy • Maigret Hesitates • Maigret's Boyhood Friend • Maigret and the Killer • Maigret and the Wine Merchant • Maigret and the Mad Woman • Maigret and the Loner • Maigret and the Flea • Maigret and Monsieur Charles
Short stories The Barge with Two Hanging Bodies • The Affair of the Boulevard Beaumarchais • The Open Window • Inspector Maigret Hesitates • Jeumont, 51 Minutes' Wait! • Inspector Maigret's War of Nerves • Journey into Time • Rue Pigalle • The Stronger Vessel • The Old Lady of Bayeux • The Inn of the Drowned • Stan the Killer • At the Étoile du Nord • Storm in the Channel • Maigret and the Frightened Dressmaker • Inspector Maigret and the Missing Miniatures • The Unlikely M. Owen • The Group at the Grand Café • The Man on the Run • Under the Hammer • Death Threats • Maigret's Pipe • Not the Sort to Get Murdered • Elusive Witness • The Most Obstinate Man in Paris • Maigret and the Surly Inspector • Maigret's Christmas
Categories:- 1955 novels
- French novels
- Maigret novels
- Crime novel stubs
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